What Are The Side Effects Of Immunotherapy?

Fever

Fever is a side effect that can manifest in individuals undergoing treatment with immunotherapy. When a foreign body stimulates an individual's immune system like a virus, bacteria, parasite, or other pathogens, several immune processes are triggered in the body to fight it off. One of the mechanisms the immune system uses to try and fight off foreign invaders is by inducing the release of a hormone that tells the hypothalamus to raise the overall internal temperature of the body. The reason for this is because many pathogens are not able to grow and multiply in such high temperatures, while other pathogens cannot survive in them at all. The same way foreign pathogens activate these defensive immune system processes, immunotherapy can also stimulate such processes. While high body temperature is typically not useful for the elimination of malignancy in an individual, it is a component in the group of immune processes as a whole that can help fight cancer. After the body gets used to the treatment, the patient may eventually no longer spike a fever. Everyday fever-reducing medications can be used to help mediate the symptoms a patient may be experiencing as a result of the fever.